About this project

$75,770

1,768

backers

Mock-up of the printed book.

After six years in the making, God Hates Astronauts is finally finished and is being collected in one amazing 180 PAGE HARDCOVER GRAPHIC NOVEL!

"I don't want to oversell what Ryan has accomplished here, but I gave God Hates Astronauts to a blind man and he regained his sight."-Jonathan Hickman (The Avengers, Fantastic Four, The Manhattan Projects)

NEW BACKER LEVELS!

The one of a kind original art for the wrap around cover!

GET THE ORIGINAL ART FOR THE COVER OF THE BOOK: See below on the right.

GET THE RYAN BROWNE SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE: See below on the right.

STRETCH GOALS!

Note: Stretch goals apply to every backer level in which I ship you an actual book.

STRETCH GOAL 1: $20,000(UNLOCKED!) A double-sided GHA full color bookmark! I know you'll read GHA in one incredibly long trip to the bathroom, but hey, you read other books right? Those'll probably need a bookmark—and why not make it a GHA bookmark?

STRETCH GOAL 2: $24,000(UNLOCKED) A GHA full color sticker! Litter the town with petty vandalism using the GHA sticker! Perfect for placing on the windshield of a cop car while he's arresting you for public intoxication!

STRETCH GOAL 3: $28,000(UNLOCKED) A GHA full color signed and numbered bookplate! What's a bookplate? Who knows—but they will come with every copy of GHA and boy will they class up the book! Sample book plate conversation is as follows:

You- "Oh that's not just a signed and numbered illustration, that's a BOOKPLATE!"

Them- "SWEET MERCY YOU'RE ONE FANCY DUDE/DUDETTE!"

STRETCH GOAL 4: $32,000(UNLOCKED) The hardcover book will get a seriously fancy upgrade in the form of UV SPOT COATING on the cover! That's right, it'll have fancy gloss accents on the cover that will class up the joint in a way never even dreamed feasible. NOW WE'RE TALKING!!!

STRETCH GOAL 5: $36,000(UNLOCKED) Every copy of the hardcover will come with a folded GHA mini-poster! These posters are perfect for dorm rooms, opium dens and for hiding small escape tunnels in prison cell walls! Class up the damn joint with a mini-poster! UPDATE! THE MINI-POSTER WILL NOW BE ILLUSTRATED BY EISNER AWARD WINNING ARTISTS PAOLO RIVERA! HOW COOL IS THAT?

Here is a sketch from Paolo to announce his involvement in GHA!

STRETCH GOAL 6: $40,000(UNLOCKED) I will produce a brand new God Hates Astronauts 12 hour improv comic! I will be draw for 12 hours straight, an hour per page with no preplanning. This new amazing story will not be in the book and will be given to every single Kickstarter backer in digital PDF form! How exciting is that? Very exciting.

STRETCH GOAL 7: $44,000 (UNLOCKED) Everyone will get a PDF of the Ryan Browne sketchbook! That's right people! It will contain at least 50 pages (I'm not sure how many, but it will be at least 50) of early God Hates Astronauts drawings, random sketches, prep stuff from Manhattan Projects, and some fun early early work! I'm going to go deep into the depths to put this bad boy together and show you some fun Ryan Browne madness! Not available anywhere else!

STRETCH GOAL 8: $50,000(UNLOCKED) Everyone will get a digital download of both issues of the never before released comic, "Amazing Adventures of Science Fact!"—a book that features little adventure and almost no scientific fact. Story and art by me and Written by Mike Costa (Smoke and Mirrors, G.I. Joe Cobra). We made this comic right before God Hates Astronauts and is pretty rough, but still has some life to it plus a crap load of hilarious jokes! Unfortunately, the book was never colored, but it still reads well! Never released but totally rocks the house!

STRETCH GOAL 9: $55,000(UNLOCKED) Everyone will get a digital PDF download of the first chapter of "BLAST FURNACE: RECREATION THIEF VOLUME 2: THE SEARCH FOR MORE MONEY!" That's right folks, BLAST FURNACE IS BACK and the first chapter is done! Production on this book isn't going to be as fast and furious as the first because my schedule is so crammed, but the second volume is underway! You will get all 25 pages of the first chapter, fired right into your eyeballs! ALSO, anyone who has purchased Blast Furnace will get a free digital download of volume one! BLAST FURNACE IS BACK!!!

STRETCH GOAL 10: $60,000(UNLOCKED) This one is special just for those that have purchased the Star Grass Resin Statue. Sculptor Gabriel Dorsey is going to add a fast food accessory pack! Contains a resin burger, soda, fries and greasy meal sack! Place them with your statue and really class up the joint! OH BOY!

STRETCH GOAL 11: $65,000(UNLOCKED) You get a PDF download of all the new origin stories that I will be making for GHA fans! With their consent, you will get digital versions of the five new two-page origin stories that I am doing for the $650 origin story backers! These things are going to be crazy fun and I'm excited to share them with everyone! YAY!

WHAT IS GHA?

From the creator of "Blast Furnace: Recreational Thief" and "Smoke and Mirrors" comes the ultimate collection of the most outrageous weirdo parody comic on the web, GOD HATES ASTRONAUTS. Imagine a book that is a bizarre mix of "The Venture Brothers", "Aqua Teen Hunger Force", "The Tick" and that hilarious Billy Bob Thornton film "The Astronaut Farmer."

GHA follows the story of a group of incompetent, small-minded, super powered narcissists called "The Power Persons Five" who are hired by NASA to stop all farmers from launching themselves into space in homemade rocket ships. Unfortunately, for NASA, this goal is scarcely even addressed and the book focuses more on extramarital affairs, bank robing owls, big gross swollen heads, ghost cow heads, olde tyme boxers, tigers eating cheeseburgers in the Crab Nebula, buffalo judges and tons of aggressive swearing. Not as much a superhero book as it is a parody of basically everything and a celebration of weird that is jam-packed with references to Robo-Cop and Die Hard. Read the first three issues HERE!

Some sample pages from the main story.

This book contains all three oversized issues—re-lettered, color tweaked and perfected from what you saw on the web. It also contains the two original GHA 24-page, 24-hour comics, tons of amazing pin-ups, a full reference guide for the series AND 18 ORIGINAL TWO-PAGE ORIGIN STORIES WRITTEN BY ME AND DRAWN BY OTHER AMAZING ARTISTS! Check below for all the amazing artists involved.

Some sample pages from the Origin Stories section.

Also included is the original theme song for GHA as written and performed by MURDER BY DEATH! Every single backer level will get a digital download of the theme song that they can listen to as they read the book! It's soooo awesome and will infect your soul with joy!

I am proud to say that THE ENTIRE BOOK IS FINISHED, all in need is your help to fund the printing of the darn thing and then everyone wins! If you liked what you read from my last successful Kickstarter, "Blast Furnace: Recreational Thief", you'll love God Hates Astronauts.

Since the book is done and ready to print, what I need from all of you is to invest in the backer incentives on the side bar and become a part of GHA. I couldn't have gotten this far without all the awesome support from my fans. They are truly the reason why GHA has continued to live on for the last six years. As I did with the "Blast Furnace" Kickstarter, I will be printing the book as soon as the campaign ends to ensure that you will all get your copies as soon as possible!

Fanatically fun two-page stories that flush out the backstory of every major (and a bunch of minor) characters from the GHA Universe! Written and colored by me, and drawn by one of 18 awesome professional comic creators! Including…

LIST OF PIN-UP ARTISTS

Here's a little sneak peek of some of the awesome pin-ups! Featuring the talents of…

THREE DIFFERENT GHA SHIRTS FOR YOU TO WRAP YOUR TORSO IN!!!

Three T-Shirt Options

Original God Hates Astronauts Art!

Test casting for the God Hates Astronauts Resin Statue. Final will feature a translucent blue ghost head as seen below and will have fewer bubbles and imperfections than shown. Signed by the sculptor and numbered edition of 50!

Final translucent blue ghost head for the GHA Resin Statue!

The final cast of the Star Grass Resin statue! Cast in three pieces and features a clear blue resin head. Hand cast, signed and numbered by the artist in an edition of 50!

The Painted Statue Edition! Hand painted by the sculptor Gabriel Dorsey. There will only be one produced!

RE-LETTERED AND COLOR TWEAKED FROM THE WEB VERSION.

Since issue one of God Hates Astronauts is six years old, I decided to "George Lucas" it a bit with new lettering and color tweaks. The entire script and drawings are the same, but it has a new coat of paint to make it and easier transition between issues. CHECK IT.

TESTIMONIALS FOR GOD HATES ASTRONAUTS

"Like witnessing the last throes of a terminally diseased mind, but even funnier." -Ivan Brandon (Viking, Men of War, Wolverine)

"Writing is hard. Art is harder. Storytelling is hardest. Ryan Browne is the best pure storyteller I've seen in years and GOD HATES ASTRONAUTS is his masterpiece. GHA is a blend of humor, heartstrings, high-art, and Browne makes it look and feel effortless. God wants you to read this book. Unless you're an astronaut. He hates them." -Jai Nitz (Dream Thief, Paper Museum)

"God Hates Astronauts is genius. Bear armies, the disadvantages of immortality, a jealous cow-spirit, Montel Williams and a likable character with a hideous, vomit-inducing swollen face. Do not miss it. I'm serious."-Zander Cannon (Top Ten, Heck)

"Ryan Browne is one of the most original voices in comics I've ever come across, and GOD HATES ASTRONAUTS is proof he can do it all. Everything from the art to the dialogue to the goddamn SOUND EFFECTS is used to make you double over in laughter. Oh - and GHA does it with superheroes, proving that just when you think you've seen it all in that genre, you haven't. Ryan is going to make the rest of us have to work a lot harder now. GOD may HATE ASTRONAUTS, but I hate Ryan Browne." -Mark Sable (Graveyard of Empires)

"The funniest and most original book I've read in years. A hilarious writer and excellent artist, Ryan Browne is the next Mike Allred." -Darick Robertson (Transmetropolitan, The Boys)

SOME EXCERPTS FROM GHA (without words).

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. VERY SINCERELY, THANK YOU. God Hates Astronauts is a true labor of love and the most important thing I have ever done in my career. From the very start I have done everything on the book and have continued to lose money on web-hosting and self-publishing—but it's all been worth it. The compliments and reactions from the growing fan base and other professionals have made it worthwhile and have continued to cheer me on in this books creation. THANK YOU… YOU GUYS MADE THIS HAPPEN.

Ryan Browne

Chicago, Illinois, February 2013

Risks and challenges

The risks and challenges are extremely low with God Hates Astronauts because the book is done, the printer has given it's final quote, and I am ready to print as soon as I get funding. The challenge will be filling all the orders, but I already have a group of friends committed to helping me fulfill every order and a connection with the UPS Store. Everything that I learned doing my last Kickstarter has me fully prepared for this one!

Support this project

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Pledge $10 or more
About $10

DIGITAL LEVEL: A digital download of the entire 180 page book featuring all three issues, the origin stories and bonus content PLUS an MP3 download of the God Hates Astronauts Theme Song by MURDER BY DEATH!

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Pledge $25 or more
About $25

T-SHIRT LEVEL: One sweet A$$ God Hates Astronauts t-shirt of your choice plus the MP3 download of the theme song by MURDER BY DEATH and a PDF of the book! Choose from three sweet shirt designs! SWEET! (add $10 for international shipping)

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Pledge $30 or more
About $30

BOOK AND SONG LEVEL: One fantastic signed copy of "God Hates Astronauts: The Completely Complete Hardcover Edition" sent right to your door! Plus a digital download of GHA Theme song by MURDER BY DEATH and a PDF download of the book. (add $10 for international shipping)

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Pledge $31 or more
About $31

THE UPSIDE-DOWN BOOK EDITION: You get a regularly printed copy of God Hates Astronauts: The Completely Complete Edition signed and shipped to you, upside-down! That's right, it's the same darn book but it appears in the package upside-down! Can you believe your luck!!!! Books are signed and numbered upside-down as the UPSIDE DOWN EDITION. Also comes with a non-upside-down MP3 theme song and PDF version of the book. CRAZY RIGHT???? (add $9 for international shipping)

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Pledge $32 or more
About $32

THE BABY GOT BACK(wards) FACING BOOK EDITION: You get one copy of God Hates Astronauts The Completely Complete Hardcover Edition, placed in the package backwards! It's the same book, just shipped facing backwards in the package, signed with a backwards signature on the back page and numbered and labeled as the backwards facing edition in backwards type. Comes with the normal MP3 and PDF. BACKWARDZ! (add $8 for international shipping)

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Pledge $33 or more
About $33

THE SIDEWAYS EDITION!?! You get one copy of the regular hardcover edition placed in the package sideways and shipped to your door! Each book will be labeled sideways as "The Sideways Edition" and individual signed and numbered in a sideways fashion. SIDEWAYS!!! (add $7 for international shipping)

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Pledge $33 or more
About $33

THE PERSONAL SARCASTIC INSULT EDITION: Not for the faint of heart, you get one copy of God Hates Astronauts The Completely Complete hardcover edition featuring a personalized snarky inscription! For example, say your name is Bruce, the inside might say "Hey Bruce, thanks for spending your daily hooch allowance on GHA instead of hooch!" It will then be signed and numbered as the personal sarcastic insult edition! UH MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY? (add $10 for international shipping)

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Pledge $36 or more
About $36

BRAM RAIMI'S EDGAR ALLAN LOVETHULU SPOOKTACULAR EDITION! Are you annoyed that GHA isn't a horror comic? Me too. That's why with this edition, you get a normal copy of the hardcover book, but it now features a tiny horror marker sketch on the inside cover (like a skull, bat or a Cthulhu or something) plus it will be labeled and numbered as BRAM RAIMI'S EDGAR ALLAN LOVETHULU SPOOKTACULAR EDITION! Just in time for Halloween!!!!

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Pledge $36 or more
About $36

THE GOD LOVES ASTRONAUTS EDITION! Tired of all the hatred and the insults? Well now you can get the "love" edition! It features the regular hardcover book, but now it has a quick marker sketch of a loving, adorable astronaut head on the inside cover. It is also numbered and labeled as THE GOD LOVES ASTRONAUTS EDITION and packaged with love and tenderness. Perfect for Valentines day! ROMANTIC!

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Pledge $40 or more
About $40

BOOK AND BLAST FURNACE LEVEL: One signed copy of the God Hates Astronauts Hardcover plus an MP3 of the theme song, a PDF of the book, PLUS a signed copy of my other book "BLAST FURNACE RECREATIONAL THIEF". (add $10 for international shipping)

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Pledge $45 or more
About $45

THE DOODLE LEVEL: You get a signed copy of the GHA Hardcover, plus a little doodle of something awesome placed inside the book. Also comes with the MP3 theme song by MURDER BY DEATH and a PDF digital version of the book. DOODLE!!! (add $10 for international shipping)

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Pledge $60 or more
About $60

GHA, BLAST FURNACE AND A SHIRT LEVEL: One signed copy of the God Hates Astronauts Hardcover, a signed copy of my other book "BLAST FURNACE RECREATIONAL THIEF" PLUS a GHA T-Shirt of your choice! Also includes an MP3 of the theme song, and a PDF of the book. (add $15 for international shipping)

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Pledge $70 or more
About $70

JUST THE STAR GRASS RESIN STATUE LEVEL: The Limited Edition Star Grass resin statue! 6.25 Inches tall and featuring a blue resin body and a translucent blue head. Designed by me and sculpted and cast by master sculptor Gabriel Dorsey! Perfect for making your desk or book shelf look dignified! Comes with a digital PDF copy of the book and the MP3 theme song! STATUEZ RULE!!! (International shippers add $15)

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Pledge $73 or more
About $73

THE RYAN BROWNE'S FACE EDITION: You get two copies of the hardcover book, one that's normal and one that I've pressed my face into every single page! My face oils will be all over your book! Enough DNA to clone your very own Ryan Browne! Also comes with the MP3 and PDF. NO WAY!!! (add $15 for international shipping)

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Pledge $75 or more
About $75

TWO SHIRTS AND A BOOK LEVEL: You get two of the three available GHA shirts, a copy of the hardcover book, the MP3 theme song and a PDF digital download of the book. UNCREDIBLE! (add $10 for international shipping)

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Pledge $100 or more
About $100

SMALL COMMISSION LEVEL: A commissioned drawing of whatever you would like plus a copy of the God Hates Astronauts hardcover, the MP3 theme song and PDF. Commissions are ink and fully rendered marker and are done at finished comic book size (6.875''x10.438''). FUN!!! (add $10 for international shipping)

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About $100

THE HANG-OUT WITH RYAN BROWNE LEVEL: You get a copy of the hardcover book plus an hour video chat with me via Skype or Google+. I can show you original art, talk about the art process and writing, give you tons of unwanted advice, critique your art, talk about baseball—whatever you want that isn't R-Rated. It could be awesome or it could be horrifying! Be prepared to crack an adult beverage and make sure you have a computer that actually works. THIS COULD BE INTERESTING!? (add $10 for international shipping for the book)

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Pledge $100 or more
About $100

TWO SHIRTS, TWO BOOKS LEVEL: It's a Wookie Life Day miracle! Two shirts of your choice plus two signed copies of the hardcover! Get your holiday shopping finished in February! Comes with the MP3 theme song and the PDF Digital Copy. (Add $20 for international shipping) HEAVY!

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Pledge $125 or more
About $125

THE DEFACED EDTION: You get two copies of the hardcover, one normal, one totally defaced by me. I'll grab a sharpie and spend a ton of time making that book look like a men's room stall!!! Adults only on this one guys... things could get a little bit rowdy! MP3 and PDF as well, signed and numbered! WEEEEEEE!!! (add $15 for international shipping)

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Pledge $300 or more
About $300

BIG OLE' COMMISSION LEVEL:
A commissioned drawing of whatever you would like plus a copy of the God Hates Astronauts hardcover of the MP3 theme song, and the PDF. Commissions are ink and fully rendered marker and are done at standard comic art size (11''x17''). PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME DRAW SOMETHING WEIRD! (add $15 for international shipping)

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Pledge $300 or more
About $300

ORIGINAL ART LEVEL:
Get an original page of art of your choice from either issues 2 or 3 of God Hates Astronauts plus a copy of the book, the MP3 and PDF! First come first serve! I MUST BE CRAZY!!! (add $15 for international shipping)

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Pledge $300 or more
About $300

THE PAINTED STATUE EDITION! One of a kind! Sculptor Garbriel Dorsey has meticulously hand painted one of the Star Grass Statues! There will only be one painted statue ever. Comes with a signed copy of the hardcover that will be labeled as THE PAINTED STATUE EDITION as well as the MP3, PDF and all the stretch goals. So cool! (Add $15 for international shipping).

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Pledge $600 or more
About $600

THE RYAN BROWNE SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE: Subscribe to Ryan Browne and get everything I make, signed and shipped to your front door. $600 per year for the service (limit five years at the pledge of $3,000). Starting in March, you get a signed copy of every single comic book that I produce plus every T-Shirt or print I make. This includes my upcoming issues of "Manhattan Projects" and my ongoing job drawing "Bedlam" for image comics. Every three months I will send you a package with the issues plus a sketch. AND you get ONE page of interior original art from whatever project I am currently working on, once every year for the length of your subscription. For example, $600 will get you everything I produce for one year, four sketches and a piece of art, $1200 will get you two years of everything I produce, eight sketches and two pieces of art—and so on up until five years at $3000. Got it? It's a Ryan Browne dream! Comes with the GHA hardcover and all three shirts. Any questions just message me above. YES!!!!! (add $50 for international shipping for each subscription year.)

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Pledge $650 or more
About $650

YOUR ORIGIN LEVEL: I will write, draw and color a completely crazy two page fictional origin story loosely based about you! You will officially become a character in the God Hates Astronauts Universe—feared by all, admired by few! You get the original art pages and a digital version of the two page story which I may print in the next edition. Not for the humorless or faint of heart. Also comes with a copy of the book, MP3 and PDF. BE A PART OF IT ALL!!! (add $15 for international shipping for artwork)

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Pledge $1,350 or more
About $1,350

THE COVER ILLUSTRATION! The original art used for the wrap around cover for God Hates Astronauts! Drawn on two pages of heavy stock paper in blue pencil and ink. It measures a 21 6/8''x 17''. Truly an amazing one of a kind illustration and only one in existence. For super fans only. Also includes all 3 shirts, 1 copy of GHA, 1 copy of Blast Furnace, 1 resin statue, MP3 download, the PDF. GET IT WHILE YOU CAN!!! (add $20 for international shipping)